Global Awareness Project World Tour

In order to understand the world, one must construct it. - Cesare Pavese

The motif of the world as a village of 100 people is used for the GAP World Tour. Tokens come in sets of 100 to represent 100 percent of the world's resources. In some cases fewer tokens are used when they represent the percentage of people for whom it is true: 43% of the world's people live on less than $2 per day so 43 tokens are used to represent their poverty.

Worldmapper summarizes data into 12 regions of the world. These 12 regions are used for the basis of a village of 100 people motif for the GAP World Tour. Map colors indicate the 12 world regions.

The tour is generally taken in groups of 3 to 6 students at a map. The instructor asks students to place one set of tokens at a time on the map as the students believe they are distributed in the twelve regions of the world. The instructor then announces the correct distribution of the tokens and students adjust their placement.

This exercise begins with the factual level of knowledge and misperception in building a visual display that should move students beyond the level of learning facts to an intellectual and emotional response about the world in which we all live: What has caused this inequality? What perpetuates it? Do we have a moral responsibility to address it?

Keeping those goals in mind, modify this suggested format to best work with your students and subject matter. And send us your suggestions.

• Pass out maps of the world to groups of 3 to 6 students
• (Optional) Have them list continents and oceans.
• (Optional) Ask students to attempt to name all of the countries on the map or just use a certain region.
• Pass out one set of tokens at a time.
• Reflection questions can be used any time during the tour.

Have students place tokens on the map as they believe they are distributed. Use which ever data is applicable to your class. After each placement of tokens, present the actual distribution from the Answer Key and have students correct their distribution.

• Distribute 100 people on the 12 regions.
• Distribute 43 rings around the necks of people who live on $2/ day or less.
• Distribute 18 empty glasses beside people who do not have potable water.
• Distribute 70 homes by the people who have permanent houses.
• Distribute 4 red crosses by the areas hardest hit by HIV infections.
• Distribute 100 green chips to represent ownership of wealth.
• Distribute 100 red chips to represent public debt by region.
• Distribute 100 derricks to represent oil production by region.
• Distribute 100 cars to represent oil imports by region.
• Distribute 100 missiles according to military spending by region.

Token Images

Population Absolute Poverty Oil Import Oil Export Housing

Clean Water Public Debt Wealth Military Spending

Send us Suggestions! Teachers, be a part of the development of the G.A. P.Send us suggestions for ways to take the world tour or new data you have used with your class. Send us suggestions to this address as an attached Word document: Jnewcomb@css.edu